More Than Magic
by Ash M. Knight
Summary: Heroine Emma Swan finds herself in desperate need of help from the one person she never would have thought to ask: her adversary and the villain of Storybrooke, Regina Mills.


**Author's Note: This inspired by a Tumblr prompt shared on the SwanQueen Fanfiction Facebook page. Thanks to everyone who encouraged me to write it! Hope you all enjoy. Trigger warning: Mentions of rape and assault. Graphics depictions of violence.**

* * *

When Sheriff Emma Swan was dispatched to 108 Mifflin St., she had no idea what to expect. The crowd storming the mayor's doorstep were roaring with protests and yelling expletives. From the road, the sheriff couldn't see the mayor, but judging by the rioting crowd, she knew the mayor was somewhere near the entrance of the mansion.

Taking in a steadying breath, the sheriff got out of the cruiser and approached the crowd.

"What's going on here?" she asked loudly, but the crowd was distracted by their target.

When she repeated herself, she made sure to shout so there was no mistaking who was talking. Still, she was ignored, so she pushed through half of the mob, making her way to the middle, just close enough to see the mayor, Regina Mills, standing defiantly at her own doorstep.

Before Emma could speak again to try to dissemble the mob, a man in front dove forward and made a grab for Regina's arm.

"Don't touch her!" the sheriff shouted, her face growing red from her fury as she pushed through the rest of the crowd until she was in between the townspeople and their villain. "Nobody touches her."

"Tell that _witch _to lift the curse and let us out of Storybrooke!" the man in front barked, looking furious.

No one could remember when the curse was cast, and of course, Regina would never tell them, but the point was, they were all tired of being trapped in the town. Their knowledge of the curse had brought them only misery, and their anger was not wrongly placed on the mayor.

"Listen," Emma started, exasperated. "I know we're all stuck here with cabin fever, but a riot is not the way to solve this problem."

"Oh, yeah? What is then, Sheriff?" another man piped up, staring boldly into her eyes.

In the heat of the moment, Emma was actually tempted to strangle him, and it probably showed on her face. Still, she stood in front of the mayor, separating her and the angry mob, and crossed her arms defiantly over her chest.

"If anyone wants to get to her, they'll have to go through me."

The crowd stared at her, dumbfounded.

"Why are you protecting her?" one woman called out from the back.

"Because she's a person!" Emma shot back, scowling at each of them with equal intensity. "Now, I suggest you all make like the Red Sea and split up, _now._"

Reluctantly, the gathered crowd dissipated, leaving Emma alone with Regina, who surprisingly had not yet said a word.

"I don't need _you,_" Regina snapped, "or anyone else to protect me. Now get the fuck off my porch."

"That's funny. It really did look like they were about to lynch you right there. Pretty sure you would've been hanging from that apple tree if I hadn't shown up."

"That's enough, Sheriff."

"Why don't you just give them what they want?"

Flatly, Regina replied, "Pardon?"

"Why don't you just lift the curse and let them leave? They'll stop bothering you, you'll actually be doing something kind for someone else for once, and you won't have to worry about them forming an angry mob around your mansion."

"I'll not stand here listening to some unkempt, inexperienced sheriff telling me what to do. I'll have you know that I—"

"Does it ever get old?"

"Does what get old?"

"Being such a bitch all the time," Emma replied, holding back a smirk.

"Get off my porch, Sheriff. I won't tell you again."

Rolling her eyes, Emma turned her back on Regina and walked up the driveway towards her cruiser.

~!~!~

The mayor spent the rest of that night tossing and turning in bed, begging to feel peace enough to sleep, but finding none.

'_If anyone wants to get to her, they'll have to go through me.'_

Regina groaned at the words that repeated in her mind and buried her face in her pillow. For the first time in as long as she could remember, she screamed. Luckily, her son, Henry, was in his room, fast asleep, and the pillow muffled most of the sound. But it couldn't suffocate her frustration.

~!~!~

Things were quiet for quite some time before the town was turned on its head once again. This time, it was Regina's world that spiraled out of control.

The last thing she was expecting when her doorbell rang was to find Emma Swan in a crumpled heap on her porch in the rain, but when she opened her door, that was exactly what she beheld. No mob. No screaming townspeople come to lynch her for her crimes. Just…

"Swan?" Regina asked apprehensively, looking down at the sheriff, who was on her knees.

When the blonde looked up, Regina was horrified to see the woman's face bruised and bloodied in several places. None of the blood was dry. In fact, it was dripping from her temple, her nose, and the right corner of her mouth. Shirt torn, nearly falling off her shoulders, and eyes full of tears, Emma looked up at her nemesis with a dazed stare.

Stumbling to her feet, Emma kept her eyes on Regina's face as she swayed slightly, her balance obviously unstable.

As Regina looked on in stunned, frozen disbelief, the sheriff weakly mumbled, "Didn't know where else to go…" before collapsing into Regina's arms.

~!~!~

When Emma opened her eyes several hours later, when the morning light was just peeking into the sky, she found herself in a guest room in the mansion at 108 Mifflin Street. The mayor was beside her, holding a bowl of water and wet cloth. Then, after the realization of where she was kicked in, the pain erupted in her face as Regina dabbed at her temple with the cloth.

"Ouch!" Emma cried. "That s-stings!"

"Oh, hush. It's for your own good," Regina grumbled. When she saw Emma's eyes filling with tears though – and wrongly assuming it was from the pain – she added, "It'll be over soon. I just have to get you cleaned up. I'll be quick."

"N-No… It's n-not… I…"

As the memories of the previous night flooded back to her, Emma winced and began to sob.

"Hey… Hey, it's okay," Regina told her, her voice trembling slightly from the unfamiliarity of the kind words she was offering. When the sheriff began to sob so hard that her body began to shake, Regina asked, her tone suddenly displaying her fury, "Who did this to you?"

Emma shook her head vigorously and flinched again, this time from the pain of movement.

"Head… exploding…"

Instinctively, Regina placed a careful hand gently on the top of Emma's head. When she felt the soft tingle of Emma's blonde hair around her fingers, she quickly snapped out of her trance and jerked her hand away. She almost said 'sorry,' but held the word in, tightly closing her lips to prevent it from escaping.

"Hurts," Emma whimpered, suddenly reaching for her stomach.

Tilting her head slightly in confusion, Regina reached out to push the blonde's hands aside. Emma fought her, but only weakly, so the mayor was able to lift Emma's shirt just slightly to see a deep gash in her abdomen.

"Who did this to you?" Regina ground out, fury returning to her eyes.

"W-Why do you c-care?"

Fiercely locking her gaze with Emma's, Regina answered, "Because the only person who gets to take you down is _me._ Now tell me who did this!"

"I… I c-can't…" Emma protested, squirming on the bed.

"You were drugged last night, and whoever did this needs to _pay_."

"R-Regina…"

"WHO, Emma?!" Regina shouted.

"Z… Zelena…"

Regina's eyes went wide at the mention of her sister, whom had been gone from the town after being banished by the mayor for quite some time.

"That's not possible," Regina breathed, staring down at Emma, whose eyes were now squeezed shut as she tried to hold in gasps and whimpers of agony.

But Emma didn't care if Regina believed her, and thus felt no need to justify her claim, so Regina pressed, "It can't have been her."

Unable to stifle the cry any longer, as tears poured from her eyes, Emma gasped loudly and let out a sharp howl of pain.

As Regina saw Emma's hands reach between her own legs to cover her crotch, she whispered, "Oh, fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck. _No_."

When Emma's hands came away bloodied, Regina's eyes went wide.

"Oh, Emma," she breathed, finding herself reaching out to softly stroke Emma's arm. "It's alright. I'm…"

"Regina," Emma sobbed.

For the third time, Regina felt herself fill with rage as she replied firmly, "She's a dead witch walking."

Regina and her sister had never been close. In fact, they had an agreement that while Regina would never interfere with Zelena's endeavors, Zelena would leave Storybrooke to Regina to do with as she pleased. Obviously, this pact had to have been broken for Emma to name her as her assailant. There was only one explanation: greed.

"D-Don't hurt her," Emma managed to say, weakly grabbing Regina's arm as the woman moved to stand.

"_What?_" Regina gaped, raising her voice again. "Are you serious? This woman… This _cunt _has no right to breathe _air, _for fuck's sake! And here you are, defending her? Have you gone mad? Are the drugs still in your system?"

Groaning, Emma reached up, covered her ears, and squeezed her eyes shut again to block out the intensified sound of Regina's voice.

As soon as Regina noticed Emma's adverse reaction, she felt her stomach turn.

"Emma…" she said softly, finding herself wanting to reach out and comfort the woman on the bed.

Instead, she carefully pried Emma's hands away from her ears and whispered, "I'm done yelling."

But she couldn't bring herself to say, 'I'm sorry.' Emma gave a weak nod before Regina reached out again, this time with the wet cloth, and wiped a dribble of blood from the corner of Emma's mouth.

"W-Why are you d-doing this?" the blonde asked, shivering.

"I already told you. If anyone's going to take you down, it's going to be me."

Emma had to smile at this, but it hurt to move the muscles in her face, so only the very corners of her lips were upturned. Regina saw it, though, as subtle as it was, and scowled back it her.

"Stop it," she snapped. "Don't make it weird."

The laugh that tried to escape Emma came out as a painful cough, and with it, blood spurted out from between her lips.

"Shit," Regina cursed. "You really are in a bad way, Emma… You're going to have to let me use magic to heal you."

"No!" Emma shouted, finally finding some strength before breaking into a coughing fit again.

"What is your intense aversion to magic? It'll have you better in no time. A few wound-healing potions and a—"

"I s-said no."

"Well I'm certainly not going to baby you back to health," Regina grumbled, dropping the cloth in the bowl of warm water, setting it on the nightstand, and crossing her arms defiantly over her chest.

Unfortunately for Emma, this served to push Regina's breasts up to the top of her blouse, which was already opened slightly too far to be subtle. Despite the haze of pain Emma was in, she noticed.

"Eyes up here, Miss Swan," Regina quipped with a satisfied smirk.

Immediately, Emma's gaze shot up to meet Regina's. Now, the redness on her cheeks was not from blood, but from sheer embarrassment.

"In any case," Regina continued, her tone once again regal and bold. "It is hardly my problem that you are too stubborn to accept the one method of help that will actually make you feel better."

"Then f-fucking dump me on the sidewalk then, and I'll c-crawl home."

Looking surprisingly pained, Regina dropped her gaze and opened her mouth to speak. Before she could express her words of protest, the bedroom door was flung open.

"Mom?" Henry questioned Regina, his voice cracking when he saw Emma on the bed. "What's wrong with Emma?"

"Henry, _out!_" the mayor snapped. "What have I told you about barging in without knocking?"

"But _Mom, _it's the spare room! I didn't think—"

'Out, Henry. I will come get you later."

"But what happened to—"

Regina was in front of him in a moment, blocking his view and gently herding him out of the room. As soon as he was out of sight, Emma tried to sit up, but immediately fell back onto the bed with a groan.

"Easy," Regina warned her, voice suddenly gentle. "He's fine. Lie back. Let me finish."

"J-Just t-take me—"

"Enough. Don't be stubborn. It's a very unappealing quality, as is your constant speaking."

Emma scowled but remained still as Regina continued to clean the blood from her face.

"I'm going to run you a warm bath," the mayor announced, once the blood from Emma's face was cleared. "Then I'm going to bandage your wounds."

"B-But you s-said…" Emma protested, her voice still stuttering from the effort it took to speak.

"I know what I said. Stay still 'til I get back."

Emma wanted to resist, but knew she was vulnerable and needed the help. Despite Regina being her rival, she was the only person Emma could trust with the knowledge of what Zelena had done. They were the only ones who knew Zelena's motivation anyway: to dethrone Regina and take over the town herself. Left only with these thoughts when Regina left the room again, Emma began to cry once more.

Regina returned shortly thereafter, and by the time she entered the room, Emma was asleep, with fresh tears on her cheeks.

"Oh, Emma," Regina sighed to herself, feeling guilt rise within her.

Zelena only would have went after Emma to take down the last thing between herself and Regina. And Regina was the last thing keeping Zelena from taking over the town. But this… This was extreme, even for her.

Grateful that Emma wasn't awake to see her using magic on her, Regina used her skill to transport the blonde into the bathtub.

Emma's eyes opened instantly – as Regina knew they would – and Emma cried out in pain as Regina stood facing the wall, away from the tub. More than anything, Regina wanted to turn around and check on her, but also didn't want to invade her privacy.

"'Gina," Emma whimpered. "Stings."

The use of the new nickname caught Regina off guard. She knew Emma was having difficulty speaking, due to the pain, but the sound somehow made her feel strange.

"I…" she started, her own voice beginning to falter. "I'm sorry."

The words almost got stuck in her throat, but when she managed them, she felt her cheeks become warm.

"H-Help?" the wounded blonde stammered. "Hurts."

"But I—"

"P-Please, 'Gina."

If anything Emma had ever said was going to pull at her heart strings, it was this. Her plea for help. Her desperate _need _for Regina's care. And it made Regina's stomach churn like butter.

"Are you sure it's okay to look? I—" Regina asked apprehensively, still wanting to respect Emma's privacy.

"Please."

When Regina finally turned around and saw the water, red with Emma's blood, her heart stopped.

"Oh, God," she breathed, nearly collapsing to her knees beside the tub. "What did she do to you?"

Emma shook her head weakly and grabbed for the soft cloth Regina had placed on the edge of the bathtub, but Regina quickly grabbed it before Emma's hand could reach it.

"I'll do it," the mayor told her hesitantly. "If it's okay."

Nodding and shutting her eyes to try to block out the pain, Emma leaned her head back against the edge of the tub. With surprisingly shaky hands, Regina cleaned most of Emma's body with as much care as was possible, but when she reached Emma's torso, Emma let out an agonized scream.

"W-What?!" Regina asked anxiously, pulling her hands away to prevent herself from hurting Emma worse. When Emma gripped her side, Regina gasped, "Oh, fuck. Emma… I think your ribs are broken. But the gash on your side _needs_ to be cleaned or it will become infected, and I—"

"Nuh-uh," Emma quickly protested.

Regina found herself softly stroking the sheriff's shoulder to calm her, using the gentlest touch than she had used since their son was an infant. To her surprise, Emma calmed almost immediately.

"Please, trust me," the brunette whispered. "I'll be gentle."

Emma nodded reluctantly, but continued to let out cries of anguish as Regina cleaned her wounds as best she could. Distracted by the warm, red water, Regina felt her heart sinking further.

"So sorry," she said softly, feeling a shocking wave of tears fill her eyes.

"'M f-fine."

"You are _not _fine. And I _will _kill her for this, Emma."

"No! You _can't_."

"Oh, yes, I fucking can," Regina countered defiantly.

"No!"

"Has anyone ever told you that you're as soft as a tiny snowflake?" Regina huffed. Emma scowled at her and opened her mouth to protest, but Regina rolled her eyes and muttered, "Oh, hush."

"Make it stop," Emma whimpered suddenly, feeling the pangs of her wounds return as she reached beneath the water in an attempt to comfort her injuries.

"Emma… If you'd just let me use magic, I could—"

"No. Just… N-Nevermind. I'm f-fine."

Again, Regina found herself touching Emma quite involuntarily as her hand reached out and gently traced a line along Emma's jaw, making the woman shiver.

Sighing, Regina told Emma, "You're not fine. But I'm here, and I'm not going to let her hurt you again." Emma looked into Regina's eyes with a look of pain and confusion, but Regina added, "I promise," and calmed some of the woman's fears.

~!~!~

That night, after Regina tucked Emma into bed very carefully and leaned her back against the pillow.

"Try to rest, okay? You're never going to heal if you keep pushing yourself to sit up," the mayor told Emma seriously, her voice full of concern. "I'll see you in the morning. Get some sleep."

"D-Don't leave—" Emma stammered in desperate protest.

Emma hated her own weakness in this moment but knew she could not stand to be alone.

Regina's eyes went wide at her plea, and for a moment, she simply stared at the blonde who was looking back at her with sad, shimmering eyes.

"I…"

"Please. I'm…"

"Don't… Don't say that you're—"

"I'm scared, Regina. I don't want to sleep. Every time I shut my eyes I see her—"

"Alright," Regina sighed softly, moving back towards the bed and instinctively threading her fingers through Emma's hair. "I'll watch over you while you sleep. I already tucked Henry into bed, so we should be fine there."

Shutting her eyes, Emma tried to sleep. Several minutes later, they opened again and found Regina watching her intently.

"Can't sleep," the blonde whined.

Regina didn't know how to respond, so she bit her lip and hesitated until Emma struggled to push the covers down to her waist. When the woman grabbed her wrist, Regina felt herself freeze.

"W-What—" she started, but felt Emma tug weakly.

"Please," Emma whispered, her face turning red as she failed in her attempt to silence her own needs.

Reluctantly, shocked by the implied request, Regina slipped into the bed – fully dressed – and allowed herself to slide under the covers. Remaining at the very edge of the bed as she watched Emma's eyes shut once more, she noticed the clear look of relief that was expressed on Emma's face. Soon, she heard the sound of Emma's breaths becoming slower and deeper and knew that the woman had fallen asleep.

Regina watched her for a while, remaining on her side, facing the woman beside her in the bed, as she realized for the first time that she felt a strange sense of compassion for Emma, despite their previous rivalry. Then, with this unsettling thought in her mind, Regina allowed her head to fall to the other pillow and drifted off to sleep herself.

The mayor was startled awake to the sound of Emma's gasping and cries of anguish. The blonde was gripping her forearm tightly as she sobbed.

"Emma," Regina said quickly. "Emma, I'm right here. It's okay."

Without much thought, and simply compelled to act on need and impulse, Emma rolled towards her – despite the pain she felt – and rested her head against Regina's chest.

Paralyzed by the sensation of being touched with tenderness for the first time in years, Regina stared at Emma before reacting. Eventually, the sound of Emma's sobbing grew too intense for her to ignore, and although her muscles were tight, she resisted the urge to pull away out of fear and allowed herself to reach up and stroke Emma's long, soft locks of hair.

Calming almost immediately, Emma's sobs became quiet tears, and she fell asleep again with her head pressed against Regina's shoulder.

The next time Regina woke, she felt Emma's arms wrapped around her waist. The woman's head had fallen to her breast, and as soon as she felt this, Regina's heart began to race.

_Oh, God, _she thought. _Emma Swan is—_

The sheriff woke to the sound of Regina's labored breathing as the mayor tried to calm herself and interrupted her thoughts.

"Gina," Emma whispered, her eyes fluttering open.

But as soon as Emma saw how close she was to her rival – to the woman she had always had conflict with – she pulled away.

"S-Sor—" she started, but Regina hushed her and very carefully pulled her back in, with the last ounce of bravery she had.

"I've got you," Regina whispered back. "It's alright."

Both feeling the fear of closeness and vulnerability, they remained in each other's arms until there was a loud knock at the door.

"Mom?" Henry called out. "Mom! Mom. Mom, mom, mom!"

"Good lord, Henry. What _is it?_" Regina groaned, rubbing her eyes.

"I'm hungry!" he shouted enthusiastically. "Is Emma still here?"

"Henry, you are perfectly capable of pouring yourself a bowl of cereal."

"Yeah, but I don't want to!" the boy protested through the door. "Can I come in?"

"No, Henry. Go downstairs. I'll be down in a minute."

"What are you guys doing?"

"Henry!" Regina shouted. "Downstairs! Now!"

Reluctantly, Henry stomped his way down the stairs and into the kitchen, making loud huffs of annoyance the whole way.

"That boy," Regina chuckled, turning back to Emma. "He's going to be the death of me."

Emma smiled at this. Actually _smiled. _And Regina felt her heart flutter at the sight. How often did Emma smile? And how often did Regina feel… what? Butterflies? Surely, they weren't butterflies. _Surely_, she wasn't—

But Emma wiggled closer, distracting Regina from her thoughts, and in response, the brunette once again threaded her fingers through the blonde's hair and stroked it gently.

"I've got you, Em," she cooed. "I've got you."

~!~!~

Over the next few days, Regina had to spoon-feed Emma her meals, as Emma could hardly sit up on her own, due to the pain in her ribs. Of course, Emma hated this. As a strong, independent woman, nothing bothered her more than her need for someone who had once been her worst enemy.

"Thank you, Regina," Emma mumbled, wiping the corner of her mouth.

Her voice had become steadier as she became stronger, but the agony was still intense. Her fear of the nightmares and flashbacks was even worse, so each night, after tucking Henry in for bed, Regina found herself lying beside the sheriff in the guest room. Every night it became easier and more natural to be close to Emma, and the sheriff seemed to have less and less embarrassment when she wrapped her arms around Regina's waist to keep her close.

Usually, though, despite the comfort that Regina's proximity brought her, Emma woke screaming in anguish from the intense burning sensation, mostly in her ribs.

"That's it," Regina snapped, on the fifth night. "I'm healing you."

"Don't!" Emma shouted. "I'm fine!"

"You're waking up screaming! Don't be so god damn stubborn!"

"Don't use magic, Regina. I don't need magic to heal."

"You do if you want the pain to stop sooner rather than later," Regina quipped angrily. "I hate that you're like this."

Emma raised an eyebrow at the final comment and watched as Regina's expression fell.

"I don't hate you," Regina clarified, clearing her throat as she looked away.

"I'm sure you don't."

"Pardon?"

"I hear your heart racing when you lie next to me."

"That's ridiculous. It doesn't-"

"Don't try to lie to me, Regina. I'm a walking lie detector, and I know bullshit when I hear it."

Scowling, Regina turned away to face the open window and crossed her arms over her chest.

"It's kind of cute when you do that, you know," Emma mused with a smirk.

Regina laughed at this and shook her head, saying, "You're insufferable, you know that?"

"Yeah, I know. But you can't seem to get enough of me. You won't even share me with another villain."

Regina froze, expression stony and serious.

"You think I'm a villain too, huh?" she asked coldly, not turning around to see the look of absolute horror on Emma's face.

"Regina… I didn't mean it like that. I just meant-"

"No, it's fine. I get it. Everyone sees me that way. Why wouldn't you?"

"Look, you play the role, okay? All the townspeople want is to be free, and you've trapped them in a hidden town for all eternity. I don't think you're a villain, but you are certainly doing villainous things."

Unable to argue with Emma's logic, Regina let out a disgruntled huff and continued to face the window.

"Turn around," Emma ordered her, her voice suddenly firm.

"Why?"

"Just look at me."

With a heavy sigh, Regina turned around to find Emma smiling slightly as she gazed at her.

"You're not a villain," Emma told her. "I don't see you that way. I never really have. All behavior is caused, and I think you have a perfectly good reason to be the way you are. I just wish you could - Ouch!"

When Emma let out the cry of pain, Regina rushed to her side, asking, "What is it? Are you okay?"

"Ribs. Ouchie."

Biting her lip, Regina put a gentle hand on Emma's shoulder and watched as the woman's expression slowly softened.

"Anyway," Emma continued with a cough. "I see you as someone strong and independent. Someone smart, passionate, and determined. All qualities I admire."

Obviously taken aback by this confession, Regina stared at the sheriff in disbelief.

"You do?" the mayor finally asked, breaking the silence and earning a nod from Emma.

"Yeah, I do."

"Thank you, Emma…"

"It wasn't a compliment, really. Just the facts."

The smile tugging at the corners of Emma's lips made Regina's heart skip a beat. Regina tried to ignore it, but it was so gut-wrenching and obvious that her face flooded with color.

Once again, though, before Regina could reply, they were interrupted by their son knocking on the bedroom door.

"What is it, Henry?" Regina called out with a sigh.

"I wanna see Emma."

"Alright, darling. Come in," Regina answered, after receiving another nod of approval from Emma. As soon as he came barreling towards them, Regina warned, "Easy, Henry. Your mom is hurt badly."

"But why would anyone want to hurt Emma?" Henry asked, brow furrowing with concern as he gripped the woman's hand.

Regina turned to Emma to answer this, and reluctantly, Emma replied, "Because some people don't like heroes."

"And _you're _a hero!" Henry cried, his smile returning. "I'm glad you're safe. Mom's taking good care of you, right?"

Emma smiled up at Regina and replied, "Yes, sir. Very good care of me."

"Good. I just want you to get better fast, okay?"

"Okay, handsome. Anything you want."

~!~!~

That night, Regina sucked in a steadying breath as she watched Emma groan in her sleep. It was obvious that the woman was still in a significant amount of pain, and Regina felt it impossible to bear any longer.

With a sigh, she shut her eyes and waved her hand over Emma's body. When the cloud of purple smoke dissipated, Regina hesitantly lifted Emma's shirt, just enough to see that the gash on her lower abdomen was gone. When she looked at the sheriff's face, the woman's wounds were gone, and she finally looked peaceful. She was no longer in pain.

To Regina's surprise, though, Emma rolled onto her side moments later and pulled Regina in close with strong, insistent arms. The sudden show of strength took Regina by surprise as she was pulled tightly against Emma's chest, but Regina relaxed slowly as Emma nuzzled her face into her neck.

When Regina woke in the middle of the night, disturbed by her own nightmares of watching Emma's torture, her heart was racing. It slowed easily when she realized that Emma's entire body was on top of her, and the woman's head was on her breast.

"Oh, Emma…" Regina sighed under her breath as she ran her fingers through the sheriff's hair. "What am I going to do with you? And how am I going to survive you in the morning?"

As concerned as she was about Emma's reaction to being healed overnight by Regina's magic, she was comforted to sleep by the warm embrace of the blonde's arms around her, and she fell back into gentler dreams shortly after that.

~!~!~

In the morning, Emma woke with a start, having had her own bout of nightmares. This time, however, Regina was gripping her snugly around the waist, and she found herself completely on top of the mayor.

Eyes wide at their proximity, Emma blushed as Regina stirred awake.

"Sorry," Emma muttered, attempting to roll away.

But Regina shook her head, gently pulling the woman back in and saying, "It's okay. You're warm. Even better than a heated blanket, I'd say."

Emma laughed at this and hesitantly let her head fall back onto Regina's chest.

"I like listening to your heartbeat," the sheriff confessed. "It's comforting. Even when it's racing."

"My heart does not _race, _thank you. It remains at a calm, steady rhythm at all times."

"Sure it does," Emma chuckled.

Regina scowled at this, but quickly realized that she was actually just protesting the facts, the reality that Emma was right, and that there was nothing she could do about it. _I really am a terrible liar, _she thought with dismay.

Without thinking much of it, Emma reached up and began to thread her fingers through Regina's hair, slowly stroking the soft locks and feeling the tingling sensation on her palm. Then, the sudden realization that she was feeling no pain struck her, and she immediately sat up in bed and glared down at the mayor.

"How _could _you?!" Emma snapped, nearly throwing herself off of Regina. "I told you not to-"

"I couldn't stand to see you hurting any longer," Regina confessed sadly, biting her lip as her eyes silently pleaded for Emma's forgiveness. "I had to make it stop."

"Magic is not the answer to all your problems!" Emma shouted, getting out from under the covers and standing beside the bed for the first time since her assault as she continued to glare at the woman before her.

"Well it certainly _was _the answer to this one!" Regina shot back, feeling furious that Emma would rather be in pain than accept the help.

"Thanks, but no thanks. I came to you for help and you-"

"I did help you. You told me to make it stop, so I did."

"I'm leaving. Don't bother going after Zelena. Now that I'm healed, I'll bring her to justice myself."

"Oh, yeah, sure. Like _you're_ going to open a can of whoop-ass on her."

"Maybe I will."

Regina rolled her eyes at this and swung her legs out of the bed, saying, "Leave if you want. I tried to help you, and now you're pushing me away. What do you want from me, anyway? Why did you come here?"

"I had nowhere else to go…"

Regina's heart sank as she tore her gaze away.

"Alright. You're better now. Go, then."

When Emma began to gather her clothes, which were folded in a neat pile near the nightstand, Regina stood up and touched her arm.

"Hold on," she said softly. "I… I'm sorry. To be honest, I'd grown quite accustomed to you being... here…"

"And?" the blonde snapped, still angrily glaring at woman who had healed her.

"And I don't want you to leave. I'm glad you came to me. I don't know what the hell happened between us to make this okay, but it is. And now I can't imagine you gone."

Jaw dropping, Emma continued to stare.

"Please, don't leave," Regina sighed. "I'm sorry for what I did."

Raising an eyebrow as she examined Regina's expression, Emma replied, "I don't think you are."

"You really are a human lie detector. It's a ridiculous super power, do you know that?"

"Not so ridiculous now, is it?" Emma asked with a smirk.

"Ugh. You're insufferable."

"And yet… here you are… asking me to stay with you."

"Emma, stop. It's not funny. I'm trying to… to be…"

"Tell me the truth. Why do you want me here?"

Rubbing her temples, Regina sat back down on the bed and tried to look anywhere but at Emma.

Voice shaking, she answered, "Because for the first time ever, I feel comfortable here. In my own home. And only you could ever have made that happen." Wide-eyed, Emma tried to reply, but Regina continued, "And you're right. I'm not sorry I healed you. You can hate me if you want to. You can walk away right now. But I'll never be sorry I stopped your pain."

"Ugh," Emma groaned, approaching Regina. "Get back in the bed, you fucking brat."

Laughing playfully, Emma pushed Regina the rest of the way onto the bed and straddled her lap, shocking Regina into silence.

"You're a sap, you know that?" the blonde chuckled.

Then, her expression became suddenly serious as she tenderly stroked Regina's cheek.

"I'm not gonna say thank you, because I'm still pissed, but…" Emma began, looking down into Regina's dark eyes. "But I hear you saying you care about me, and as shocking as that might be, I appreciate it. More than that… I'm glad I came here that night. I'm glad I'm here with you."

"I'm still going to kill Zelena," Regina said seriously, resting her hands on Emma's thighs as she tried to calm the intense heart palpitations.

"No, you're really not," Emma countered. When Regina opened her mouth to speak, the sheriff quickly interrupted, "Know why?"

"No. Why?"

"Because I'm asking you not to, and you owe me this."

"I don't owe you anything, Swan. I-"

"Oh, we're back to 'Swan' now?"

"Well, no, but I-"

"Regina," Emma said, once again becoming serious. "If you love me… If you ever even _could _love me… You won't hurt her." When Regina found herself red in the face and unable to speak, Emma pressed, "Well? What's it going to be? You might as well just tell me now and get it over with."

Knowing that either choice would be a bombshell, and that her answer would change things between them forever, Regina took a deep breath and replied, "I will always choose you, Emma."


End file.
